Neville Longbottom
Professor Neville Longbottom (b. 30 July, 198012) was a pure-blood3 wizard, the only child and son of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Neville's parents were well-respected Aurors and members of the original Order of the Phoenix, until they were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange and three other Death Eaters with the Cruciatus Curse when he was about sixteen months old. They were placed in the Janus Thickey Ward at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, leaving Neville to be raised by his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom. Physical appearance Neville was said to strongly resemble his mother. He was round-faced,11 short, chubby, and had blond hair.57 He was also somewhat buck-toothed. Pansy Parkinson had once called him "fat", but this may have been an exaggeration, as she frequently made disparaging comments about Gryffindor students. Magical abilities and skills Neville was not an academically strong student in his early years, often requiring Hermione's help in class and with school-work. However (as confirmed by McGonagall58), part of this was likely caused by his use of another's wand, poor self-esteem, and anxiety caused by the incessant bullying from many of his peers and Snape. When he found both courage and self-confidence in his later years, Neville's magical skills as a wizardgrew and he proved to be a powerful wizard in his own right. Relashonships Parents As Neville's parents, Alice and Frank Longbottom, had been permanent residents of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries since Neville's infancy, he never knew them as the popular and talented Aurors they were reputed to be. Nevertheless, he held them in high esteem, much like his friend Harry looked up to the parents he never knew. Trevor Trevor was Neville's pet toad. He was given to Neville by his Uncle Algie upon Neville's gaining admission to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Neville often lost Trevor, as he did the first time he rode the Hogwarts Express and Hermione Granger met Harry Potter and Ron Weasley as she helped him search. In Neville's third year, Professor Snape made him test his Shrinking Solution on the toad; though Neville's dubious potion-making skills could have resulted in the toad's death, Trevor was successfully transformed into a tadpole, much to the Gryffindors' delight. Harry potter Neville first met Harry Potter in 1991, while Neville was looking for his toad, Trevor, on the Hogwarts Express. They became classmates and room-mates after they were both sorted into the Gryffindor house, and came to be good friends over the years. In 1994, Harry learned that Neville's parents were tortured into insanity by Barty Crouch Jr, Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan Lestrange. Harry felt that Neville was far more deserving of pity than he, though he promised Dumbledore not to tell anyone what he knew, as it was Neville's decision whether or not to reveal his past to his friends. Hermione granger Neville met Hermione Granger on the Hogwarts Express when she helped him find Trevor, his toad. During their years at Hogwarts, they became closer as Hermione encouraged him to stand up for himself when Draco Malfoy and his friends played pranks on him, or made jokes at his expense. Ron weasley Neville met Ron Weasley on the Hogwarts Express at the start of their first year. As both were sorted into Gryffindor house, they became room-mates. Over time, Neville became good friends with Ron, who, like Hermione and Harry, encouraged Neville not to let the Slytherins get to him. Ginny weasley After asking Hermione to the Yule Ball in his fourth year and being turned down because she had already agreed to attend with Viktor Krum, Neville asked Ginny Weasley. She agreed to go with him as a friend, being too young to attend otherwise. Luna lovegood Neville and Luna, a Ravenclaw student, first met on the Hogwarts Express, in 1995. Neville found Luna a bit "odd", as she believed in the existence of strange, mythical creatures, had a tendency to read magazines upside down, and wore earrings that appeared to be made of radishes. Luna, like Harry and Neville, had the ability to see Thestrals, as they had all seen someone die. Draco malfoy Initially shy and clumsy, Neville regularly found himself on the receiving end of insults from Draco and his gang, and was often the butt of their jokes and pranks — a fact which served only to make Neville clumsier and less confident. When encouraged by Hermione, Ron, and Harry to stand up for himself, Neville replied with "how I can barely stand at all" but, despite this previous mind set Neville grew to be someone who was much more difficult to bully by his later years at Hogwarts. Dumbledore's army Dumbledore's Army was an organisation led by Harry Potter that sought not only to undermine the dictatorial authority of Dolores Umbridge, but to offer students a means of learning the practical defensive magic Umbridge denied them in their actual Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Neville became a member at the time of its formation in 1995, and this marked something of a turning point both in terms Neville's relationships with other Hogwarts students, and in terms of his magical ability beyond Herbology. As the D.A.'s practise progressed throughout the course of the year, Neville showed marked improvement in his ability to disarm and stun, as well as perform the Impediment Jinx and Reductor Curse, among others. Bellatrix lestrange Bellatrix Lestrange led fellow Death Eaters; Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and Barty Crouch Jr in the torture Neville's parents by means of the Cruciatus Curse, leaving them permanently incapacitated in St Mungo's. When Bellatrix escaped from Azkaban prison in January 1996, Neville was heavily affected. Severus snape During his years at school, Neville was terrified of Professor Severus Snape, and the poor boy managed to earn the Potions Master's ire in almost every lesson. Snape regularly and unnecessarily targeted Neville with verbal taunts, threats, sarcasm, and malice, which put an extremely nervous Neville even more on edge. Snape went so far as to feed a few drops of Neville's Shrinking Solution to Neville's pet, Trevor, so as to humiliate him for doing badly on the potion and almost kill Neville's toad. Thanks to Hermione, Neville was able to fix his potion so that his toad wasn't harmed. Albus dumbledore Neville thought Albus Dumbledore was the greatest wizard of all time. He met Dumbledore in 1991, when he was the headmaster of Hogwarts. At the end of Neville's first year, Dumbledore awarded Gryffindor the ten points they needed to win the House cup because Neville had the courage to try and stop Harry, Hermione, and Ron from leaving the Gryffindor tower after hours. Dumbledore also knew about Neville's parents, and told Harry not to say anything, leaving Neville the right to choose when he revealed his past to his friends. Hogwarts staff Minerva McGonagall was Neville's Head of House and Transfiguration professor during his years at Hogwarts. She often scolded Neville for his clumsiness and incompetence, though it was more likely his lack of confidence that frustrated her. McGonagall knew that Neville was capable of more than he seemed and saw that he was actually brave, and thus encouraged him to work to his potential. She was also a friend of Neville's grandmother, and had known his parents in their days as Aurors. Neville and McGonagall both fought in the Battle of the Astronomy Tower and the Battle of Hogwarts, and both survived the war. Years after the war, Neville was given the position of Herbology professor at Hogwarts, although it is unknown if McGonagall was still teaching there. Lord voldemort Neville was one of the two boys possibly referred to in the prophecy as being destined to bring about Voldemort's end. However, Voldemort chose to target thePotters based on the simple concept that Harry was a half-blood like himself, thus marking Harry, and not Neville, as his equal. After Lord Voldemort's first defeat, four fanatically loyal Death Eaters tortured Neville's parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, to the point of insanity, using the Cruciatus Curse, in an attempt to force Voldemort's whereabouts out of them; this fact initially haunted Neville, but eventually spurred him to rise to his full potential. Behind the scenes * Neville's initial lack of magical power could be deemed the result of his grandmother's overbearing presence as he acknowledges that she is constantly telling both him and others that he is not as talented as his parents and Dumbledore states that misery and lack of confidence can sap a wizard of his or her powers. * On 18 February, Neville Longbottom's check-out of Quidditch Through the Ages from the Hogwarts Library ends. * Neville never took N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration, since he only earned an Acceptable. However, like Harry and Ron, he was still recruited by Kingsley Shacklebolt into the Auror department after the battle to help track down any remaining Death Eaters.52 * It is possible Severus Snape's hatred for Neville was due to him being the second boy in the prophecy, which means if Voldemort had chosen to go after Neville rather than Harry, Lily would still be alive. * There is a Feature named "Neville Longbottom, a true Gryffindor" on Pottermore. * Rowling has revealed that the original last name for Neville's character was "Pupp."64 External links * Harry Potter Lexicon page Category:Students Category:1980 births Category:Adoptees Category:Auror office personel Category:Aurors Category:Battle of hogwarts participants Category:Battle of the department of mysterious participants Category:British individuals Category:Cruciatus Curse victims Category:Dumbledore's army Category:Gryffindor Category:Gryffindors sorted in 1991 Category:Herbology professors at hogwarts